Method of packaging merchandise



I 9 1,590,995 9 D. NELSON METHOD OF PACKAGING MERCH June 29 1926.

Anni-s9 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Juhe 29 1926. 1,590,995

D. NELSON METHOD OF PACKAGING MERCHANDISE Original Filed April 6. 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented June 29, 1926.

UNITED srA'rsszrArsur OFF-ICE.

DANIEL NELSON, OF OAK PARK, ILLINOIS, AS SIGNOR TO MARSHALL FIELD & COM- PANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION 01 ILLINOIS.

METHOD OF PACKAGING MERCHANDISE. v

Original application filed April 8, 1925, fil'ill No. 20,926. Divided and this application filed January v r 8, 1926. Serial N0. 79,950.

This application is a division of my appli-' cation filed April 6, 1925, Serial No. 20,926, describing a novel package of merchandise,

and a method of producing the same, according to which, a'paper bag accurately fitting within a packing frame, and sustained thereby, has moulded within it or between its sides and an article of merchandise to beenclosed therein, a mass of packing material pressed into the space with suflicient density to mould it, on the interior to the form of the article of merchandise and on-the ex-. ter-ior to the form of the sustained paper bag; the packing material having the ,mher- 1 ent qualit of retaining the shape to which it is mo ded so that the paper bag which will be closed around the completed mass of moulded packing material will be required to withstand stresses which are substantially Figure 1 is a perspective view showing apackers bench with a supply of envelopes, a packing frame containing a bottom block, and a supply of acking material;

Figure 2 1s a a portion of one of the envelopes of Figure 1 in partially open condition; g Fi re 3 is a .view showing an envelope in comp etely opened position;

'Figure 4 is a perspective view illustrating the acking frame and an envelope in assemb ed relation, and an article of merchandise in process same;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a'package produced in accordaneewith the present invention and ready for shipment;

Fi re 6 is a view of a knock-down packin ame in collapsed condition; and %igure 7 is a perspective view showing a modified construction of envelope.

of being packed within the to the accompanying drawings, in;

agmentary view showing Referring to the drawings, which disclose 1nstrumentalities employed in practicing the new method, A represents a acking or molding frame, B a stack of enve 0 es, preferably pa er bags, for use within such frame, an C a supply of packing material of known kind, for instance, excelsior or equivalent mouldably and inherently resilient material in fibrous form, for use in filling the s ace between the envelope and the. article o merchandise. Frame A may consist preferably ofsides 1, 2, 3 and 4, with hingin connection 5 between at least two sides, or instance, the sides 2 and 3, although two of the other corners may also'be of hmging construction, for instance, as shown at 6, where the sides 1 and 2 meet, and at 7 where the sides 3 and 4 meet, the fourth corner 8 involving in its' construction some suitable form of releasable connection,

for instance, a hasp and staple connection.

If the frame is made of metal as shown, the hasp may take the form of a projection 9, integral with the side 1', and adapted to lap over the adjacent 'end of the side 4, said projection having a slot 10 adapted to re ceive the staplell after the manner of a hasp and thereby hold the packing frame in service position while leaving the, connection readily releasable for openin u the frame when the package is comp ete The hinged corners of the frame A may also be provided with justify g sto s 12,13 and 14, each made to proj evct'rigiti ly from one wall, for instance, by bending up a part of the wall material, in position to receive abutment of the other wall lnvolved in the hinge connection, and thereby cause the walls to assume rectangular relation when the frame 1s set up.

Each envelope B' com rises, besides its bottom (not shown), si es 15, 16,17, and 18 united therewith, as well as with one another, in a manner to provide, when the envelope is distended, five sides of a rectangular closure, the sixth side of which is left open for receiving the merchandise and acking material, but adapted to be closed y means of flaps 19, 20, 21, and '22 project- .ing from the upper margins of said sides.

As originally supplied, the envelopes 'will be folded in a manner torender them convenient for opening and distention, and preferably, also. in a manner to developthe loeation of bending to develop the square bottom fitting the frame; as, for instance, by fold ng the sides in the manner-usual in supplying paper bags in collapsed form, and as sug-.

into the space defined by the envelope, but

sustained by the rigid packing frame until the packing material becomes a moulded mass, the packin being, of course, dlsposed in a manner to thoroughly protect the mer- A chandise, and the flaps 19, 20,21, and 22 are then folded inward over the now solid mass,

within the envelope, and secured by adhering an uppermost'flap, for instance, the flap 22, to the flap which immediately underlies it, if one or more of the flaps are gummed on their margins, for instance, as suggested by the marginal shading on the flaps of Figure 4, or, if desired, secured by means of a separately formed gummed strip; also, if desired, by causing hold-down tabs 22*, provided on one of the side flaps, for instance, the flap 22 as shown in Figure 4, or as extensions of the separately formed gummed strip, to adhere to the ends of the 'envelope, the hasp-latch 10, 11, being in the meantime released and the packing frame opened sufficiently to admit the said end tabs. Sealing tabs 22 may or may not be incorporated in the form of the envelope.

When used, they may be included in the construction of the flaps without waste of material by appropriately cutting the envelope blank and leaving notches in the end of th flaps 19 and 21 (Figure 4).

In order to adapt the frame A to give shape to packages of different vertical dibottom therefor.

mension, any one of a series of blocks similar to the block 23 (Figurel) may be introduced into the frame to constitute a false While but one of these blocks is shown, it is to be understood that a plurality of the same will be conveniently available to be introduced, selectively, into the situation referred'to, and for the .pur-

' pose stated. While the flaps 19, 20, 21, and

22 are shown as being of definite width and entending from envelo e sidewalls of definite helght, which may ring the hinging line of the aps at a level above the upper margin of the side walls of the packing frame A, especially when a filling block is lntroduced to vary the depth of the frame, it is to be un- .the packing level de' def-stood that the folding line of the flaps can readily be re-established to coincide with the vertical dimension of ,the package, gauged by the frame, by merely tearing the aps down at the corner edges until the tearing is arrested b the rounding of the flap over the edge 0 the frame. Similarly, if the separation of the corner edges of the side walls in producing the flaps leaves the integrity of the side walls ending at a lower leve ing relation of the side walls of the frame to the sidesflof the envelope will nevertheless establish a foldin line for the flaps at ed by the depth of the acking s ace withinthe frame.

With all 0 the corners hinged as described, the packing frame A is adapted to than the sides of the frame, the sustainbe collapsed into .the condition, shown in Figure 6 in order to render it more conven ient for storage where a plurality of frames of different dimensions are to be kept within selective reach of the operator.

21, and 22 as the closing means for the envelope, the envelope may be in the form shown in Figure 7, where the closing means consists of a wall extension 24 gathered upon the upper portion of the bag by a reverse fold, after the manner of a cuff, so as to avoid hindrance to the acking operation, and presenting the edge fbr convenient prehension and withdrawal as soon as the packing is finished in order to provide folding portions to the walls in forming a closure similar to that usually resorted to in closand with the same security as in' a box made' of wood or other rigid material, opportunity being thus afforded for building an effective protection around the merchandise in the form of a solid mass which resists external forces. .It is possible to rely on such a thin, cheap enveloping means for the reason that If desired, instead of using flaps 19, 20,

the acking material is moldable and retains its orm and stresses imposed upon the envelope are mainly in the direction of tension. I claim:

1. The improvement in the art of'packaging articles of merchandise for shipment, which consists in introducin the article into a tensionally strong flexib e -envelope, and, while sustaining the envelope in a moulding frame, packing the space between the article and the surrounding envelope with a mouldable packing material, under pressure sufficient to give to the mass a self-sustaining form corresponding to that of the moulding frame, and then, while maintaining com- 1,590,995 i l B pression of the packing, closing and securing ticle and the bag, with mouldable packing 10 the envelope and leaving its walls under material, under pressure sufficient to detension. velop a self-sustaining form in the mass, and 2. The improvement in the art of packagthen, while maintaining compression of the 5 ing articles of merchandise, for shipment, mass, closing and securing the end-closure which consists in fitting into a moulding and leaving the bagunder tension. 7 15 frame, a paper bag having an end-closure, Signed at Chicago, Illinois, this 29th day inserting the article to be packaged into the of December, 1925. bag, packing the space defined by the ar- DANIEL NELSON. 

